Tom stood as a pillar of the legal community in Texas for over three decades, earning respect and admiration not just for his unparalleled expertise in insurance law, but for the generosity of spirit with which he shared his knowledge. Tom never hesitated to extend his brilliance to anyone who sought his counsel, offering his insights with the same warmth and thoroughness whether you were a seasoned attorney or a fresh law school graduate. To Honor Tom’s unwavering guidance and generosity to us all we would like to offer a space to memorialize Tom through his autobiography, recognizing his achievements, publications, and lectures.
Tom was a Personal Injury Lawyer in Dallas, TX. The majority of the cases that he handled were referred to him from other attorneys who had come to know him through the years. Many of the referrals were from attorneys he had cases against. He always felt honored to have earned the trust and respect of his legal peers. To Tom it was absolutely one of the greatest compliments to know that other attorneys trusted him enough to refer their family members, friends or even their own clients to represent. The referring attorneys saw the type of legal representation that Tom provided to his clients. They knew he fought hard for every one of his clients. They had the trust and confidence that Tom would provide the same competent, zealous legal representation for their family members, friends and clients.
Trust & Confidence
Tom believed that trust and confidence are the two most important things clients need from their attorney. Tom lived the code that when you hired himto represent you, you deserved to:
- Trust that your attorney cared about you
- Trust that your attorney would work for you to maximize your recovery
- Be confident knowing you were being taken care of
- Be confident knowing that your attorney:
- Had the knowledge to handle complex legal cases
- Had the skills and resources to fight the insurance companies
- Was a Real Trial Lawyer
- Be confident knowing that you had hired the right attorney
Tom also believed it was critical that his client had an attorney who would take a personal interest in their case and who would passionately represent you. Tom knew that confidence and trust were earned, not simply bestowed.
On the large number of the cases that were referred to him by other attorneys already representing a client, Tom insisted that the client consent to the referral before he would accept the case. Whatever the reason for the referral, the original attorney believed Tom’s involvement would add value to the case and would bring something unique to the case that would ultimately benefit the client. But he wanted the client to understand why he was being brought in and to agree before he accepted. He wanted the client to be comfortable from the start of his involvement.
Tom knew from his experience that trust and confidence are earned by being a smart lawyer. Every client wants a smart attorney, but measuring what makes an attorney “smart” is hard to quantify. To Tom, a smart lawyer is a lawyer who has a wide variety of skill sets and tools to use in representing the client. The necessary skills and tools vary from case to case and from client to client. Obviously, the attorney needs to be aware of the laws and rules that affect a client’s case, but a smart lawyer needs to understand more than just the law. A smart lawyer needs to understand the practical, real-life issues that impact a client and a client’s case. Sometimes being smart involves helping a client get a quick settlement. Sometimes, being smart requires encouraging a client to stand strong and fight for their rights by filing a lawsuit or by rejecting an unreasonably low settlement offer, or by advising the client that the case should go to trial. Tom WAS a smart lawyer who helped his clients evaluate the risks of the case, the costs associated with the case and how those costs impact the client’s eventual recovery, and the expected outcome of the case.
Tom knew that it was critical that the lawyer be knowledgeable about the law. When he began practicing law almost 30 years ago, going to trial on a car wreck case was straightforward. There were not a lot of laws and rules that created traps. However, over the past 30 years, car wreck cases and personal injury lawsuits have become a battleground for various special interest groups and groups who want “tort reform.” As a result, the law has evolved considerably making it much harder to win a personal injury trial and much more difficult to get fair compensation for someone who has been injured through the negligence of another. Tom helped his clients understand that they needed a lawyer who was aware of the ever-changing laws and rules that impose new deadlines, notice requirements, and even limits on damages. Tom constantly stayed current on new laws and new case decisions that impact clients.
As anyone who knew him knew, Tom was a frequent speaker at seminars about new developments in the law. In addition, he was known in the Texas legal community for the papers that he authored concerning changes in the law regarding Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims. Critical to his effort to stay current on the trends, he was an active member in several legal organizations that focus on improving the legal system, providing education opportunities for lawyers to better represent their clients and whose mission is to help lawyer achieve justice for those who have been harmed.
You can view a copy of his resume through my website to get a more detailed description of my background and experience.
Tom was licensed in the State of Texas in 1991. He personally handled thousands of cases. He tried well over 200 jury trials. Tom’s illustrious career started on the insurance company side where he defended personal injury lawsuits. That experience gave him insight into the strategies insurance companies and defense attorneys would likely try to use to avoid paying a claim. That experience also helped give him insight into knowing what type of information encourages an insurance company to pay a claim.
Tom’s experience working for insurance companies included being the Managing Attorney for Farmers Insurance and in personally defending catastrophic injury cases, wrongful death cases, drunk driving accidents and other cases involving severe injuries, large exposure cases as well as lawsuits against the insurance company for Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist benefits. As the Managing Attorney for Farmers Insurance, he managed 26 attorneys out of the Dallas and Longview offices and oversaw more than 2000 cases each year that the attorneys were defending all across the North Texas area.
In addition, to his years of representing insurance companies, he also had almost 20 years of experience representing people who were injured to get them fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries. He believed that people deserved to be fairly compensated for their injuries. Fair compensation included being compensated not only for the costs of medical expenses and lost wages, but also for the ways that these injuries impacted a person’s quality of life because of physical pain, mental anguish, or from being physically impaired and being forced to limit or to not perform certain activities the way a client should.
Fortunately for his clients, Tom saw how the insurance companies “worked.” He saw how cases that should have been settled end up in lawsuits. His experience as a former insurance defense attorney helped him to better understand the complicated, convoluted, and yes, often frustrating and sometimes unreasonable reasons why an insurance company refused to pay a valid claim. He had seen the types of things that affect an insurance company’s decision on whether to settle a case or force it to trial. He understood the types of things that affect an insurance company’s decision on how much to pay for a particular case. He used his experience to be able to help maximize his clients’ recoveries.
Tom’s experience helped him deal with unreasonable adjusters, and it gave him credibility in working to change their minds. Insurance companies knew his reputation. They knew that if they did not make a reasonable settlement office, Tom was ready, willing and able to fight for his client. They knew that he believed in his client and in his client’s case. While there was no guarantee that the insurance company would ever treat a client fairly or in good faith, or that the insurance company would ever make a reasonable settlement offer, Tom knew that the best way to get a fair offer was to prove that that he was ready, willing and able to go to trial to obtain justice, and to obtain reasonable compensation for the injuries. Tom took the approach that while he hoped that he would be able to settle a case, until the case was settled, he was working to be prepared for trial.
Because of his experience in dealing with insurance companies, it was natural that a large part of his practice was focused on Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Cases and Bad Faith claims against insurance companies, or other claims against the insurance company where his client’s own insurance company was not paying a valid claim. Consequently, over the years, Tom became a frequent guest lecturer and writer at various seminars across the State of Texas on insurance issues. To many in the legal community, Tom was the guru of UM/UIM law.
Tom was not afraid of going to trial as evidenced by his 200+ jury trials. Although his hope and his goal were for his clients to be able to reach a settlement on their cases, his reputation in the legal community was that he was not hesitant to take a case to trial to get the right justice for his client.
A Reputation of Being an Honest, Prepared and Skilled Lawyer
Tom’s reputation in the legal community was of utmost importance to him. He knew that he was respected by both plaintiff and defense lawyers and by the judges. Because good trial lawyers go before the same judges over and over, the judges quickly learned Tom was the attorney who was the most prepared, knowledgeable and best skilled. Judges knew Tom did an amazing job in preparing and presenting his clients’ cases while treating all sides respectfully as the true gentleman he was. Tom understood that there is value in being an attorney that judges knew and trusted to be honest, prepared and skilled. Tom was just that kind of attorney.
Personal Connection and Relationship with the Client
It is not enough to be a good lawyer. Tom believed a client needed a lawyer who had a personal connection and relationship with the client to be an effective lawyer. He wanted to know each one of his clients on a first name and face-to-face basis. Without that personal connection, it is harder for a lawyer to be passionate for the client. The lawyer needs that personal connection with the client to fully understand how the accident and the injuries have impacted and forever changed someone’s life so that it could be effectively communicated to the insurance company and to the jury. As a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College, Tom understood the importance of having an emotional connection with my clients.
